7 Tourist Scams in Tenerife

You're walking along the promenade in Playa de las Américas when a cheerful woman hands you a scratch card. You scratch it and — surprise — you've 'won' a prize: a free holiday, a tablet, or a cash voucher. To claim it, you just need to attend a 'short 90-minute presentation' at a nearby hotel complex. The presentation turns into a 4-hour high-pressure sales marathon for a timeshare contract costing €5,000 or more. They won't let you leave easily, offering free drinks to keep you there, rotating sales teams to wear you down, and presenting 'today only' deals that expire the moment you walk out. The European Consumer Centre specifically warns about this tactic in the Canary Islands. Holidaymakers are approached on the street in Tenerife and Gran Canaria and asked to draw scratch cards — everyone 'wins.' They're taken on a tour through a luxury hotel complex where they're pressured to sign contracts requiring deposits of €1,000-€5,000 or more. The Canarian Weekly reported on a €136 million timeshare debt involving hundreds of shell companies created in tax havens, connected to operations in south Tenerife. BBC's 'Rip Off Britain' exposed Resort Properties in Tenerife for running a timeshare investment scam. Even after Spain strengthened consumer protection laws, the Tenerife Guru blog warns that a secondary scam has emerged — 'reclaim companies' cold-call timeshare victims offering to recover their money for an upfront fee, then disappear with the payment.

You walk into a small electronics shop in Playa de las Américas where a tablet is advertised in the window for €99. Inside, the salesperson says that model is sold out but steers you to a 'superior' model for €299. You agree and hand over your credit card. The card terminal shows €299 and you enter your PIN. Two weeks later, back in the UK, your bank statement shows a charge of €2,990 — someone added an extra zero. The shop also cloned your card details and made unauthorized purchases. You call the shop; the phone is disconnected. The business has changed names. The Canarian Weekly reported that a criminal organization operating under 17 different business names in the tourist areas of Arona and Adeje (covering Playa Las Américas and Los Cristianos) was dismantled by police after defrauding over 3,000 tourists using card payment terminals to carry out unauthorized bank charges. Souvenir shop scammers were caught on camera fleecing tourists. The victims were often elderly British holidaymakers targeted on the last day of their holiday, meaning they only discovered the fraud days or weeks later when checking bank statements at home. TripAdvisor's Tenerife forum has an entire dedicated 'List of Scams' thread warning about electronics shops that add extra zeros to credit card charges, sell obsolete or counterfeit electronics, and clone card details. Mary Kinneen was notably scammed of €5,000 after buying an ice cream from a Los Cristianos promenade shop — the card terminal added zeros to a small purchase.

It's 2 AM and you've just left a bar on Las Veronicas Strip in Playa de las Américas. Two men in civilian clothes approach and flash what appears to be police badges. They say they're undercover officers investigating counterfeit currency and drug dealing in the area. They ask to check your wallet for fake bills. Feeling intimidated and slightly drunk, you hand it over. One man rifles through the notes while the other positions himself between you and any passersby. They hand back the wallet, thank you, and walk away. Back at your hotel, you count your cash — €200 is missing. This scam is specifically documented in the Canary Islands by the Fuerteventura Airport safety guide, Tenerife Guru, and multiple travel security sites. The perpetrators target tourists leaving drinking establishments late at night, when victims are intoxicated and less likely to challenge authority figures. They produce fake badges and claim to be conducting anti-drug or anti-counterfeit operations. PlanetWare's international scam guide and Rick Steves both warn that real police officers will never ask to inspect your wallet on the street. In Spain, legitimate police carry proper photo credentials (not just a badge), wear uniforms or can provide verifiable warrant numbers, and would take you to a station for any serious check — not conduct it on a dark street at 2 AM. The Tenerife Guru safety guide confirms this scam occurs most frequently in the Playa de las Américas nightlife zone.

You pick up a rental car at Tenerife South Airport from a budget company. At the counter, the agent insists you need their full insurance for €25/day because your credit card coverage 'doesn't work in Spain.' You decline. He shrugs and processes the rental with a €1,250 damage deposit hold on your card. You photograph the car and leave. When you return the car three days later in perfect condition, the company finds 'scratches' under the rear bumper — in the exact same location as marks visible in your pickup photos. They charge the full €1,250 deposit. Your emails and calls go unanswered. Gamintraveler's investigation 'The €2,000 Rental Car Scam Hitting Spanish Airports' found that the average financial loss from rental scams at Spanish airports is around €2,000, combining upsold insurance, unreturned deposits, fake damage claims, and currency conversion tricks. On TripAdvisor's Tenerife forum, a traveler reported being charged €1,250 by Record Go for pre-existing damage despite having photographic proof. Budget at Tenerife South was caught adding a €19 'Optional Fueling Service' charge that could only be removed by cancelling and rebooking at double the price. Goldcar at TFS drew complaints for additional insurance charges at pickup, fuel deposits that were never refunded even when cars were returned with full tanks, and €600 deposits that disappeared into silence. UKClimbing's Tenerife forum has multiple 'horror stories' about car rental experiences on the island.

You're on Veronica's Strip — Tenerife's infamous nightlife street — when a stranger approaches and asks if you can help them with directions on their phone. They hold out their phone toward you and, instinctively, you pull out yours to help navigate. In a flash, they grab your unlocked phone and sprint into the crowd of partygoers. Alternatively, a woman asks to borrow your phone to 'call a friend' because hers is dead. Once your unlocked phone is in her hands, she runs. The Canarian Weekly issued a specific warning about this scam affecting Tenerife holidaymakers in popular tourist areas. Criminals approach unsuspecting visitors asking to borrow their mobile phones — once the device is unlocked and in their hands, they bolt. Veronica's Strip in Playa de las Américas is the primary hotspot due to its crowded, chaotic nightlife environment where victims are often intoxicated and pursuit is difficult through the packed streets. Tenerife Guru's safety guide confirms that phone theft is one of the island's most common crimes targeting tourists, with the south coast resort areas being the primary zone. The scam is simple but effective — the combination of darkness, alcohol, crowds, and the instinct to be helpful makes tourists easy targets.

You grab a taxi at Tenerife South Airport to your hotel in Los Cristianos — about a 15-minute ride. The meter runs, but it seems to be climbing fast. When you arrive, the fare shows €35, but the driver adds a €5 airport supplement, a €3 luggage charge for your suitcase, and a €2 'night rate' surcharge, bringing the total to €45. A quick check later reveals the regulated fare for that route should be about €22-25 including the airport supplement. Tenerife Guru's comprehensive scam guide documents several taxi tricks on the island: pressing buttons to add unauthorized supplements to the meter, taking tourists the 'scenic route' to inflate the distance, and demanding inflated 'minimum fares' of €15-€20 on public holidays when passengers don't know the actual rate. The tricks are most common on routes from Tenerife South Airport and on public holidays like Christmas and New Year when passengers assume everything costs more. Legitimate supplements exist — a small airport pickup fee, a reasonable night rate, and nominal luggage charges — but unscrupulous drivers inflate these or invent additional ones. The official Tenerife taxi rate card is published by the Cabildo de Tenerife and should be displayed inside every licensed taxi, though not all drivers keep it visible.

You find a stunning apartment in Costa Adeje on a direct-booking website — sea view, pool, two bedrooms — for €80 per night, significantly cheaper than similar listings on Airbnb. The 'owner' responds quickly with beautiful photos and a rental agreement. They request a €1,200 deposit via bank transfer to a Spanish bank account. You arrive in Tenerife, drive to the address, and find either a different property entirely, one that's already occupied, or a building that doesn't match any of the photos. The phone number is disconnected. Your €1,200 is gone. Tenerife Guru has an entire dedicated page on tourist rental accommodation scams, warning about 'scam agencies' that advertise attractive-looking properties at reasonable prices but disappear the moment money is transferred. The properties either don't exist, are someone else's home, or are real properties that the scammer has no authority to rent. TripAdvisor's Tenerife forum has an updated thread specifically tracking property rental scams, with new reports added regularly. The scams typically operate through direct websites, Facebook Marketplace, or Idealista rather than established platforms like Airbnb or Booking.com that offer verification and payment protection. Photos are stolen from legitimate property management sites. The Canarian Weekly has covered multiple cases, and some scammers have been arrested — but new ones continue to appear using different business names.